The Rose of Notre Dame
by samuraistar
Summary: rated for sexual harassment Merlina gets assalted, so Dan goes on the warpath for the corrupt teen priestwitchhunter that did it to her. References to Hunchback of Notre Dame etc.ALTERNATE ENDING, up in the hizhouse!
1. A Frightening Meeting

WHAT'S HAPPENING, EVERYBODY? It's me, samuraistar! I've returned to once again regale you with my fan fiction! Yaaaaaaaaayyyy! A little note for you: For all you movie fans, there are several references scattered through the chapters. Try and guess them. And for all you manga fans, you may recognize a few references to "Ceres: Celestial Legend" in the later chapters. (Travis and Terra will not be featured in this story, because I felt like it.) And of course, you know about the huge reference to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." So without further ado, the most exciting fan fic (in my humble opinion) I've ever written:

**The Rose of Notre Dame  
**Chapter 1: A Frightening Meeting

Merlina and Umbra left the jewelry store. Umbra was proudly wearing a pink collar with a gold heart charm on it. The charm had a T in the middle in the style of the Tower. Umbra strutted the streets with her tail in the air and her chest puffed out. Merlina giggled at her pet.

"I guess it's safe to say you like your present?" she assumed. Umbra looked up at her owner.

"It's the nicest thing _I've_ ever owned!" she piped, "Thank you, Lina!" Merlina scooped her up and rubbed foreheads with her cat.

"Nothings too good for my pet," she fondly said as she set her back down, "Happy birthday." Today was Umbra's fourth birthday in cat years. In human years, she was about 29. (Confusing, I know. I don't know anything about cat years, okay? Just go along.) Anyway, so Lina gave her a new collar as a gift and now they were walking through the streets back home. Suddenly, Merlina froze up. Dark magic had gotten a hold of her, rendering her immobile and nearly defenseless; but only nearly, because Umbra was with her. Umbra's fur raised, her tail erected, and her claws were halfway out.

"Who's there?" she demanded with a hiss, "Show yourself!" The only answer that came to her was a net shot out of nowhere, ensnaring her. A teenage boy stepped forth. He wore a gray shirt with black long sleeves, a red dragon on the front, and baggy gray khaki pants with Japanese sandals. His hair was black, and his eyes were a dark, marble gray. He approached the cat, who was struggling in the trap. Umbra caught him in her eye and hissed at him.

"_Coward!_" she spat in her creepy, similar-to-Chrysalis Eater-voice, "_You..._" she struggled in the net, "_think this...stupid...thing can...hold me?_"

"A black hisser," the boy said, "what a coincidence. Doris!" A black snake appeared from the neckline of his shirt and coiled around his neck and down his arm, sniffing the air with her tongue. The boy commanded her, "Doris, guard." The snake slithered off him and circled the writhing cat with her snake eyes. Umbra still struggled, but watched Doris with equally watchful eyes. The boy turned to Merlina.

"What kind of name for a snake is 'Doris'?" she asked defiantly.

"What kind of name for a cat is 'Umbra'?" he countered, "At any rate, I'm not here to play games with you. I'm here to take you away." He lifted her chin.

"I'm quite comfortable living _here_!" she said, "Who are you!" He looked darkly at her.

"I'm surprised you don't know," he answered, "yet I'm also not. You witches don't care who's hunting you, as long as you can get rid of them." He circled her once as he said this, then faced her again. Lina couldn't break free; this magic was beyond her knowledge. He continued.

"My father was the leader of the angry mob that invaded your island. I wanted to come, but he wouldn't let me. He is in the insane asylum because of YOU! _You made him think demons were crawling all over him!_ He's out of his _mind, thanks to you!_ So I swore revenge. I made my way to the city and watched you. You're a Teen Titan; it's hard not to. I was just waiting for the right time..." he glared in her eyes.

"...and it's now." Despite her fear, Merlina had to ask, "You hate witches. Why do you carry witchcraft with you?"

"To defeat my enemy," he answered, "I must become my enemy. But this is a high level of Black magic that exceeds your own."

"How do know that?" she wavered.

"I stalked you," he said bluntly, "I know a _lot_ about you." He then snatched her wand out of her dress, brushing his hand against her.

"_What are you doing?_" she panicked. He put her wand to her throat.

"Say one word," he quietly threatened, "and I will spurn your memory forever." He then did things to her that will not be mentioned here. Let's just say he didn't keep his hands to himself. What was worse, he had her in the beginning of an alley, where no one would see his attempts to ahem you know. Umbra flailed and meowed her head off, but no amount of caterwauling would get Doris or her master to relent. Umbra got an idea and pushed her charm, which conveniently doubled as a communicator/locator.

It made a beep, and she yelled for Daniel to get down here immediately! The boy clung Lina to him and said softly, "They call me Tobias." (A/N: Pronounced "Tuh-_bye_-ess.") Before he could take his harassment too far, though, he was tackled into the street by Daniel in a red samurai robe. Daniel kicked him away and released Merlina from the boy's spell (being on as high a level of light magic as the boy was of dark.)

"DANIEL!" she cried (literally) in relief. Daniel put himself between her and the boy, who faced him. Daniel was seething.

"Give the lady her wand back," he quickly said, "_now_." Glaring at the intruder, the boy Tobias slowly held out Lina's wand. Dan snatched it and gave it to her.

"Now _get out of my sight_," he bit his words off. Doris, never moving from her post, hissed and clacked at Daniel. Tobias didn't move.

"**_You think I'm kidding?_**" Daniel shouted, "GET OUT OF HERE!" He shot Tobias with a wave of red light that lifted him and stabbed him with pain that drew a cry of "No more!"

"That's enough, Daniel!" Robin said as he and the others appeared (having also picked up the cat's signal.) True to his team, the furious wizard violently dropped Tobias with a jerk of his wand. He landed on his feet.

"You're gonna die, Merlina Rose!" he swore as he pointed at her and backed away, "even if all Paris dies with you!" Turning to run, he yelled over his shoulder, "Doris, return!" The snake slithered away at his heels. Danny grabbed his sister.

"Are you okay?" he asked urgently.

"Oh, Daniel!" she broke down in tears and crumpled in her brother's arms, telling him all that he'd done to her. Daniel listened in furious silence. Starfire freed Umbra and held her, stroking her fur and cooing to her with soothing words of comfort. Umbra wanted nothing more than to hunt their attacker down, or even just scratch or bite something, but she patiently lay in Starfire's gentle hold, realizing how tired she was.

"Happy birthday to me," she softly and sadly purred to herself.

"Is Umbra okay?" Lina asked.

"She is fine," Star said, "for now. She is very sad, but she is asleep. Merlina, who was that?" Lina stared into space.

"Just another witch hunter," she dully said. Raven, Robin, and Beast Boy then got a hold of her and herded her to the T-Car. Daniel stood alone on the sidewalk for a while, then conjured his Nimbus cloud and flew home ahead of everyone else.

"Whoever you are, Tobias," he said, "I'm going to find you. I will hunt you down like the animal you are."

Author's Review:  
Whoo! As far as I'm concerned, this is shaping up to be a pretty good story! What do y'all think? About Tobias sexually harassing Lina, I didn't go into detail with it because it was too nasty, and I don't write stuff like that...not in detail, anyway.

Sorry I've been away so long. School's murdering me. My writing's the only thing that even keeps my sanity IC. I promise you all, though, this is going to be the BEST fan fiction story I've ever written. That's just my opinion so far, but I'll let my readers/fans/whatever be the final judge of that. (wink!) Until next time!

Cordially Yours Forever,  
-samuraistar


	2. The Hunt Begins

Um...

(knocks on door) Hey, aren't y'all reading me? Can I get some reviews, please? (puppy eyes) Anyway, here's the next chapter. (bowing) Enjoy.

Chapter 2: The Hunt Begins

Merlina spent the rest of the day in her room with the curtains closed and the lights off. She sat fetal on her bed, feeling shamed and defiled. She felt empty and hollow inside. Umbra slept with Travis on Beast Boy's top bunk, but she was fine. Umbra only felt miserable for not being able to slash Tobias for her mistress.

For four hours Merlina sat in silence, except her Enya music, which she desperately needed. Starfire was able to reach her, even feed her, but Star knew that the best comfort could only come from her beloved brother.

Floating down the hall, she sought him out but learned from Cyborg that Danny had gone back downtown to do some detective work. He would not return for hours. Starfire, therefore, went back to Lina's room to keep an eye on her.  
(Later...)

"How is she?" Daniel asked Star when he returned. They were standing by Lina's door. Star looked away and held her right arm.

"She is..." she tried to find the words, "...in a very deep depression. She is scared and very sad. I am the only one she will see, and I can hardly get her to eat; she is so worried that the Tobias will come after her again. I have tried my hardest to give her the best companionship I could, but..." she looked at him with quivering, glossy eyes, "...she needs _you_, Daniel. You are her closest family, and practically all she lives for. Please, you must talk to her."

Daniel looked past her to Lina's door and knew in his heart that Star was right. He quickly blinked back tears.

"I can't, Star," he cracked, "I can't stand to see her like this. And I made a promise to find that slime ball for what he did to her. The only way to get her out of this is to save her from Tobias." Now he put her hands on her shoulders and made eye contact.

"Now listen to me, Star," he said importantly, "I know where he is, I know who he is, and I know what he's doing. But all you need to know is that I'm going after him alone. Crime won't sleep here in the city; you'll be needed here. And I want you to take care of Lina for me, okay?" Starfire looked troubled at him.

"I think it to be very selfish of you," she chose her words carefully, "to leave us all behind like this."

Daniel stopped. In his obsessive investigation, he had forgotten that his friends cared every bit as much as he did. Was he being fair? NO!

"Okay," he planned, "I'll take Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy with me. I want you and Cyborg to take care of Lina for me. I know you can handle yourself, but I'll just feel better if a guy's with you."

"I understand," she nodded, then asked, "But where are you going?"

"Paris," he answered as he walked off.

"What shall I tell Merlina?" she called after him. He stopped again. He turned his head toward her and said, "The only you _can_ tell her: the truth," and left the hall.

Author's Review

Hoo! I tell you what! I really liked doing this chapter, partly because I'd always wanted to do something to make Merlina withdraw into herself. I don't know why; maybe I read too many mangas. Yeah, that must be it. Anyway, let's get some reviews, people! Come on! I'm feeling left out here! (sad eyes)

Anyway, this story is developing pretty well, if I say so myself. (and I do) Daniel's mad as heck, Star's worried to death, and Lina's pretty much secluded in a really bad depression. Okay, so this chapter's kinda short, but it's going to get better. The later chapters will be much longer, I promise. Oh, and if anyone knows a place **BESIDES TV TOME **where I can read about the Jimmy Neutron episode "Stranded," I would be worshipfully grateful. And by worshipfully, I mean I would kiss your feet! Not really...just please tell me if you know!


	3. Lina's Pimped up ride

Even thought I'm _not getting many reviews,_ (hint, hint) I'm going to keep posting anyway, because I just can't help it. Tee, hee! Okay, this one might be a little short, too. Just bear with me, okay? Okay. (cracks knuckles) Here we go!

Chapter 3: Lina's pimped up ride

(2 Days Later...) Upon hearing the news that Daniel had left, Merlina fell into a deeper depression than before. She wore her black robe, spent all her time sitting up in bed and staring into space, her hair went flat and stringy, and now she refused to eat at all. Starfire still went to see her, but Merlina responded only with blinks of her eyes.

The third day, Starfire brought Merlina her favorite dessert in the whole world: Confetti Cake.

"I am back, friend!" she chimed gently, "And I have your favorite pre-packaged dessert!"

Before she could start the usual coaxing, though, Cyborg burst into the room, yelling "Star! We've got an emergency!" Star quickly followed Cyborg out. Lina's once monotone face now showed concern and interest. Slowly, she got out of bed and walked out of her room to the operations center to find Cyborg and Starfire talking to Robin, Beast Boy, and Raven! Where was Daniel?

"We got to Paris," Beast Boy said, "and we scoured the whole frickin' city to find Tobias! Finally, we did, but he was dressed in a priest's robe, surrounded by a whole group of witch hunters!"

"We put up a good fight," Robin picked up, "but Daniel weeded Tobias out and ran after him himself."

"And before we could do anything," Raven finished, "Tobias cast a spell on us, yelling, 'Begone, intruders!' and we appeared back here."

"What about Danny, Rae?" Cyborg grabbed Raven's arms, "What happened to Danny?" No one said anything.

"Dude," said Beast Boy, "...we don't know."

(Clunk) All heads turned to see an unconscious Lina lying in a heap on the floor.

"She got _up_?" Beast Boy said.

"And back down," said Raven as she knelt by her friend and waved her hand over her face, reviving her. Lina's eyes opened immediately. She sat straight up.

"We're going to Paris," she quickly said as she got up.

"Merlina, no!" Robin grabbed her arm, "Don't you see, this is all a trap! This is exactly what Tobias wants you to do. He'll stop at nothing to get you. You go where he is, he'll have you right where he wants you, Lina. And I"m not letting him hurt you again."

"I said _we're_ going," she replied, "and if Tobias wants me, he can have me. I don't care what happens to me." She stared into space. "...I just want Daniel back." She slipped out of his grasp and walked down the hall.

"Now let's go!" She snapped her fingers and soon Umbra came trotting up to her and went down the hall with her.

While the others got the T-ship up and running, Lina changed her robe to white, put on her Japanese sandals, and neatly tucked her wand back in her dress. Then she and Umbra went outside just as the ship was lifting off. Lina grabbed up the cat by her neck fur and jumped off a rock and into her new vehicle, built by her and Cyborg: the _Ponderosa!_ (sfx: whip crack!) Cyborg built her as he did his car, except it was a boat that could turn into a car, a sub, an air ship, or a space cruiser! The paint job was, like the car, sky blue, but just a solid sky blue. It had a tan colored, vinyl interior with two front seats. In the back were 3 benches along the sides, each with 3 seat belts. The floor was shiny mahogany, and if it went sub, the middle of the floor opened up to reveal a window to the water. But I digress.

Into this pimped up ride Lina leapt, her cat in hand. She got in the driver's seat, pulled out her wand, and stuck it into a hand outlined pad with a hole for the wand in it. With the wand in the hole and her hand on the imprint, she turned it to the right, and that was the ignition. Immediately, the Hemi engine roared to life. Umbra removed the mooring rope from the boat and jumped in the special kitty box on the back of Lina's chair.

"Step on it, Lina!" she meowed encouragingly. Lina buckled up and floored it, the boat's nose pointed toward France. And while she shredded the sea in the _Ponderosa_, (whip crack!) her friends tore across the sky.

Author's Review:  
O.O Well! I certainly hope y'all like Lina's boat! I know _I_ do! Something I need to explain about the _Ponderosa_ (whip crack!): I wrote this chappy at about the same time I was in a particular obsession phase with "Bonanza!" I'm kinda in love with Little Joe. I know; I'm weird. Now usually, Lina's not one to just sit there and be depressed. But as I said before, I'd always wanted to have Lina in a deep, dark, Evanescence-mood depression over something major. As you all have pretty much figured out by now, (not that it takes a brain-dead monkey to figure it out) Daniel and Merlina are better siblings than any two siblings I've ever heard of. Theirs is the ideal brother/sister relationship, where each of them cares enough about the other to not only worry to death when the other is in any kind of trouble, (i.e. Daniel freaking out over Tobias) and would do anything to fix it and/or make it all better. This is evident in the fact that Daniel tracked Tobias down and ran off to France in order to take him out. Him not telling Lina about this just brings out the reckless, almost irresponsible youth in us all, but at least he was smart enough to take someone with him at Starfire's suggestion.

Doris is, of course, Tobias' pet. I named her after the ugly stepsister in "Shrek 2." But we'll take more about her later. You're probably wondering why Lina didn't immediately do something about Daniel's disappearance in the first place. For one thing, if you've just been sexually assaulted, I doubt you'd be in any mood for any action. I'd probably do the same thing. In fact, I'm sure I would. Needless to say, she was in no condition for anything at the moment. Especially if you consider this: Merlina's a virgin. Nothing like this has _ever happened to her in her life._ She's been introduced to plenty of the corruption of today's world, having been on a different continent before, but no one ever imagines anything as heinous as this would happen to them. One more thing: Tobias' act against Merlina is a reference to "Ceres: Celestial Legend," Volume 9, when the progenitor of the Mikage family (being awakened in the main character's twin brother, Aki) goes after Aya in the school library. But let's stop digressing and continue! (bowing)


	4. Cats and Cobras

Woo! My first reviews for this story! Don't worry, BloodCri, I'll try! ;) And now, chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Cats and Cobras  
_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

People fighting...everywhere...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The Titans...guys...

Beep. Beep.

Tobias.

Beep.

A spell.

Beep.

Arms lifting him up...

Beep. Beep.

Quick motion.

Beep. Beep.

Voices speaking...can't understand...silence.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

He knew very well what was going on around him. He knew where he was, but he didn't wake up. The deep confines of Daniel's subconscious allowed him to be conscious enough to know his surroundings, but his state of unconsciousness was too deep for him to move, much less wake up. So he lay there in that hospital bed (even though he wasn't in a hospital) in mental seclusion, spared the annoyance of the home-kit heart monitor. He had no idea that his sister and his friends were on their way for him.

Once they dropped up on the Riviera, Lina and Umbra stepped out of the _Ponderosa_ (whip crack!). Lina put the bottom of her wand in her wand in her mouth and blew. Like a straw, silver magic sparks showered out and over the boat, cloaking it with invisibility.

"Stay," she magically commanded it, then ran off to the others, her faithful Umbra at her side.

"Okay," Robin said, "Fan out. Find either Daniel or Tobias, or any of the witch hunters he hangs around. Tobias will be in a priest's robe; so will his friends."

"Why is he dressed as a _priest_?" Lina asked.

"How many times have you seen 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'?" Robin asked back. Lina's hand flew to her face! That was only her favorite movie _ever!_ She'd seen it enough times to know about the priest & villain, Frollo. Tobias was just like him!

"FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN," Lina panicked, "WE'VE GOTTA FIND DANNY!" Cyborg was behind her, so he held her shoulders and looked down at her.

"Don't worry, Lina," he said, "We'll find him. And wherever he is, I'm sure he's fine." Lina looked hopeful.

"All right, Titans!" Robin said, "Here's how it is: Beast Boy, you and Lina look around the Square. Cyborg, you take the resident areas. Star, Raven, you two search the parks and around the Eiffel Tower. Umbra, you're comin' with me. We're searching around the Notre Dame cathedral. Titans! GO!" They scattered. Beast Boy turned eagle and carried Lina to the Arc de Triomphe, Cyborg looked around the streets of the suburbs and apartments, Starfire looked at one park, then she and Raven both scaled the Eiffel Tower. Robin took Umbra with him because he valued her animal senses, and would likely find a trail. It was this trait that often helped them in crime fighting, along with Umbra's adult mind and intellect; she often lent it to him and helped him out with problems. In a sense, Robin had come to respect the lovely black cat as his friend and teammate. (Score 2 for the kitty!)

Robin and Umbra stared up at the gigantic cathedral of Notre Dame. A small breeze blew, and Umbra lifted her nose to it.

"Umbra?" Robin asked, "What is it?" Umbra narrowed her eyes and moved her ears around. She put her face close to the cobblestone ground beneath her.

"There was a fight here," she said, not looking up, "A bunch of guys...priests, I think. The lint from their robes is all over the place. And here..." she ran over near a building, "is where Daniel and Tobias duked it out. See those burns? (Robin knelt and looked) They're very faint, but you can tell some spells and/or hexes were fired. And look!" She picked something up in her mouth and placed it in his hand. Robin held it up; it was so thin, it was almost invisible: A hair.

"Blonde," he said, "Daniel _was_ here. And judging by those burns, he wasn't here longer than a half hour before he disappeared." He whipped out his communicator.

"Guys," he said, "We've got a lead on Daniel's location."

"Love to help you out, Rob," Cyborg said, "but I'm a little busy here!"

"The same is with us!" Star shouted into hers, "We are encountering a group of witch hunting priests!"

"Dude! We need backup!" Beast Boy was panicking, "The priests are after Merlina! I'm trying to protect her, but we're _swamped_!" His transmission was cut!

"Lina!" Umbra meowed in distress, "Robin, what are we gonna—MEOW!" Another net ensnared her, but this time a rope dragged it to her captor, a youthly priest.

"Umbra!" Robin started to run to her, but was attacked from the left by another priest. Robin took care of him with a whirligig kick, but the priest with Umbra had gone! A third priest snuck up on him and stabbed him in the neck with a tranquilizing needle. The priest slung the dead weight Robin over his shoulder and ran off.

Meanwhile in the streets, Beast Boy and Lina were fighting more witch hunters than they could. Lina had stunned every boy in her path with her stun saber or sleep powder, but she was running out of ideas and energy. She and Beast Boy were back-to-back.

"Any ideas?" Lina said, getting desperate.

"Dude," he answered, "look who you're asking!" A priest spoke to him.

"You are an unfortunate victim of the witch's evil spell," he said, "If you will help us, we can free you."

"DUDE! I am NOT UNDER A SPELL!" Beast Boy shouted, "Just because she's a witch doesn't make her evil! Besides, help _you_ against my friend? Yeah, right!" He turned into a lion and roared at the priests! Lina was touched by his words and defense, and she had her wand lit. Beast Boy crouched for her to get on, and she did. He then cuffed at every priest his claws would reach, Lina clung on his mane, then he turned into a horse, bucked & kicked, then took off under an overpass-bridge with Lina sitting backwards on him, shooting cold light from her wand.

Beast Boy kept running until a black snake slithered into his path. Like the average horse, he reared, throwing the unprepared witch off his back! When she turned over on her back, she saw a green cobra in front of her confronting the black one. But all they did was hiss and clack. From behind the black snake and out of the mist walked a priest in a black robe. Merlina recognized him immediately as Tobias and froze where she was.

"Doris," he told the snake, "recoil." Doris the black snake quickly and obediently slithered up his arm and around his shoulders. Beast Boy did the same thing to Lina; no _way_ was this freak gonna have his way with her again! The chivalrous man within him would see to that. Doris angrily hissed at him, as if she was calling him a copycat. And Beast Boy clacked back at her as if to say, "So _sue_ me, lady! Just keep your master away from my friend!" Lina smiled at her cobra of a friend and sat up, glaring at Tobias.

"Looks like we're even," Tobias indicated the snakes.

"Believe me," Lina said as she stood, "We are _far_ from even." More of Tobias' priests were running after her, but Tobias made an invisible bubble of energy around him and Lina, blocking the others.

"Tell me one thing, Tobias," Lina demanded, "What do you want with me, _really_?"

"To _kill you, of course_!" the priest boy yelled, "After what you did to my father, you expect me to leave _you_ alone? I want vengeance, Rose! _You're_ a witch! _You_ drove my father insane! And everyone knows witches—all witches, young and old—must be sent back to _Hell_, where you all belong!"

"Oh, really?" she retorted hotly, "_Is that why you molested me in the middle of the street?_"

"As a matter of fact," he said, "yes. I wanted you to suffer, to give you a memory that would spurn your worthless life forever. Plus, it's true that while I stalked you, I found you rather desirable. And everyone knows that's no way for a priest to behave."

"I see," she said venomously, "You think that by killing me, you'll redeem your own soul? (scoff) Let's see if you even make it that far!" She put her wand to stun saber and ran at him. Beast Boy launched himself off of her, tackling Doris. Lina's saber came down on Tobias' red energy defense, made of his own crossed arms. Lina strained and pushed to break through, and screamed, "THE LIGHT SHALL CONQUER THE DARK!" and broke his defense, stunning him. The energy bubble fell, and a priest shot Lina in the neck with a tranquilizer, K-Oing her.

"Lina!" Beast Boy turned back to normal, but Doris was too quick. She coiled around his throat and bit him with her special sedative venom. He, too, fell into the arms of a priest.

"Put him with the others, Avery," ordered the priest that carried Lina, then turned to another, "Get the master, MacNair. The snake will follow you."

Author's Review:  
Okay, so in this chapter, Doris represents Tobias' arrival, but this is the only time she does that. Later on, we'll focus on her and Umbra. I have no idea what's with all the tranquilizers, but just go with it.

Obviously, the two priests known as Avery and MacNair are named after two of Voldemort's followers in "Harry Potter." If you're wondering where Daniel is, you'll find out in the next chapter. Ceres fans will especially need to pay attention in the next chapter and a few later on. (Little heads-up for you.)

Umbra's investigation was a shining moment for her, I think. It just proves her intelligence a bit more. And when I said "Score 2 for the kitty!" I was alluding to the Christmas fic, when we delved into her friendship with Beast Boy (for a little bit, anyway.) Umbra was actually inspired by Sailor Moon's Luna, (but you probably figured that out) but she doesn't have a British accent.

Oh, about this whole "evil teenage priests" thing? I'm not trying to slam on any particular religion; I'm just alluding to Frollo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." 

And...that's pretty much it. Till next time!

-samuraistar


	5. Ceres fan

All right, Ceres fans, this is where you have to start watching for the references to said manga. Let's get it on!

Chapter 5: Ceres fan  
"He still hasn't woken up yet?" a young gypsy girl asked her grandmother. The young girl was the one who had found the mysterious wizard unconscious and dragged him through the catacombs and up into the secret bell tower of Notre Dame where her grandmother was. Her grandmother had some supernatural powers of her own, and was unconsciously communicating with the Daniel within Daniel. No, not telepathy. What they were doing (if you've read the four Time Quartet books by Madeline L'Engle) was kything, communication between hearts and souls. The young girl did not understand it. What she understood was everything her grandmother had taught her, but right now she was focused on Daniel. She couldn't keep her eyes off him! She reached out her hand to touch his face and was smartly whapped on the hand by her grandma.

"Ow!" she cried out, "Grandma, what was _that_ for!"

"Do not touch him," the grandma reprimanded her, "You make him uncomfortable. He already has a girlfriend he adores, and he does not want you to touch him. So _no touchy!_" Her voice had the speech pattern and pitch of Uncle from "Jackie Chan Adventures." The girl pouted.

'Doesn't matter anyway,' she thought to console herself, 'Most likely he'll wake up and won't remember who he is. (Blush!) Then maybe he'll fall in love with me and swear his life and heart to me, and protect me, and we'll run away together and have—' 

"OWWW!" The girl got punched down on her head by her grandma.

"You should be ashamed," grandma yelled, "for thinking such nonsense! You have completely embarrassed him now! Yes; he can read your mind, like me." Grandma walked back to the mattress Daniel lay on, continuing, "Ah, Marie. You read too much 'Ceres.' It is filling your head with nonsensical thoughts. You are 12 years old, a child! You are much too young to seek what men possess. Now you are not to think that way around him, or touch or stare at him, understand?" Marie hung her head.

"Yes, grandmother," she grumbled as she went to the window. She sighed and leaned on her palm as she watched the sun start to go down. Then she looked down in front of the cathedral. Oh, no. They were _here!_

"Grandma!" she cried, "The witch hunting priests!" The grandmother looked up in shock. She looked down at Daniel.

"They are here," she kythed to him, "for _you?_ What would they do with you?...I see. You are a wizard...No, Daniel. I am here to help, even in my old age." Then she ended the kythe and stood up.

"Get ready, Marie," she said, "to fight." Marie nodded. The priests, all teenage boys, broke down the door. Grandma stood between them and Daniel, but was dismissively shoved to the ground by one of them. Marie moved to defend her, but was easily tossed against the wall. The group approached the seemingly unaware Daniel.

"All too easy," said one as he reached for Daniel. Daniel's hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, and Dan's eyes flew open.

"Not!" he yelled as he swung the priest in a circle, knocking them down. He then threw him down, grabbed his wand, and put them to sleep, save one. Him he grabbed with his arm by his throat, tied his hands behind him with rope from out of his wand, and put his wand to the priest's throat. He turned to Marie, who had woken, and was with her grandma.

"Are you two all right?" he asked. Marie nodded. He approached them with his victim.

"Thank you," he told them, "for rescuing me. I'll never forget your kindness. And Marie?" She looked at him as he reached into his robe and (by magic) handed her an expertly crafted dagger.

"Something to remember me by," he winked. She stared wide-eyed at it. It was a replica of Toya's dagger from "Ceres: Celestial Legend!"

"Toya's dagger!" she gasped, "How did you know!"

"I know a 'Ceres' fan when I see one," he smiled and winked again, "Now ladies, if you'll excuse me..." He dragged the bound priest out of the room and onto a spiral stone staircase; the kind with the pillar for a wall. Daniel held the priest against the wall, his wand still at his throat.

"I don't doubt you value your life more than I do," he said dangerously, "so play it safe and _tell me where my sister and friends are._" Unfortunately for the priest, he had neither black magic with which to subdue his captor, nor choice but to cooperate.

"Okay," he replied shakily, feeling around in his robe, then handing Daniel a key, "Here. Your friends are being held at the Palace of Justice. My master took your sister somewhere unknown to us, I swear." Daniel knew he wasn't lying; he could read his mind.

"And the cat?" he asked.

"The black one?" the priest answered, "It's to be drowned in the lake northwest of here tonight."

"Thank you," Daniel said, "And forgive me, but I can't have you ratting me out." (Whump!) Daniel socked the priest in his gut and circled his ear with his wand and whispered an amnesiatic spell and ran off. Three hours later, the priest would awaken to see Marie and fall in love with her. Since he didn't remember his name, he would introduce himself to her as Ulrich von Lichtenstein according to the spell and stay with Marie forever.

Author's Review:  
Hey, I could get used to this! All right! Anyway, the Ulrich thing is a reference to one of the FUNNIEST MOVIES EVER, "A Knight's Tale." Hollah! Or just review.

I don't know why I'm using Ceres in this; I guess it just fits in somehow. How do y'all like Marie and Grandma? They're less than minor characters, but they'll help out later on.

I really loved when Daniel suddenly woke up and beat up all those priests. On the deeper level, this is significant to the whole Family theme I'm always screaming about. Daniel and Lina are family, and they'll do whatever it takes to stay together, because **that's what families do.** At least, to my mentality. Guess what! I'm finally spanning my obsessive horizons of fan fiction! I'm working on a story for "Avatar," and I'm posting a "Jimmy Neutron" one-shot! Really funny; go read it! (After you're done with this one, of course.) That being said, I'm putting myself under a little pressure to write, write, write! L8R!

-samuraistar


	6. The Palace of Justice and the Conversion...

Finally! Some reviews!

BloodCri: Thanks, girl! You rock hard! Be sure and tell me when your friend starts up that fic with Lina in it, 'kay?

Marksman's Grip: No offense taken. ;) Thanks for reading! PLEASE continue to do so!

And now, chapter six!

Chapter Six: The Palace of Justice and the conversion of Doris  
Neither the strongest horse nor the swiftest cheetah could have gone as fast as Daniel Rose did as he fled to the Palace of Justice on his flying nimbus cloud. He had read the priest's mind for directions and did not tarry.

Finally, he reached it and leapt off his cloud. He stormed into the prison (no guards?) and called out for his friends.

"Raven?" he called, "Beast Boy! Cy, Star, Robin, _where are you?_"

"Daniel!" came the distressed cry of two familiar feminine voices.

"Girls?" he shouted as he followed their cries, "Where are you?" He ran into a cell room to find Starfire and Raven in flimsy white dresses with silver manacles on their wrists that blocked their powers, held together by two chain links only. Star had had some difficulty holding Raven up. From the looks of it, Rae had looped her arms over Star's neck, being weakened by the tormentors. Also from the looks of it, Star had endured a bit of torture herself! He rushed to them, horrified!

"Raven!" he gasped, "Star! What did they DO to you?"

"You are familiar with the Iron Boot, yes?" Star said with her eyes full of tears and hurt in her voice. Danny's face paled. He saw she was standing on one foot.

"I'm getting you out of here," he said, unlocking their cell, "Girls like you two deserve so much better than this." He took Raven in his arms, bridal style.

"I'm sorry, Rae," he softly cried, "I let you down." They started running to the boys' cell room. Star led the way, limping on her right foot.

"That is not true, my friend," she said, "You are doing what you can to save Merlina, as are we. Now come, quickly!" They found the boys' cell room. Robin saw Star limping.

"Star!" he said, "What hap—?"

"There is no time, Robin!" she said as she unlocked him, then Beast Boy, (they were both in white burlap shirts and pants) then Cyborg (he wasn't). All were cuffed the same way the girls were. There was no time to release them, so all Daniel did was restore their clothes to normal before he led them out of the room. Robin carried Starfire piggyback, on account of her nearly crushed foot. Daniel carried his own beloved yet tired Raven with a broken wing. (Okay, not really. Just thought I'd put in a poetic touch!)

No sooner had they exited the awful building than they found themselves surrounded by (you guessed it!) teenage boy priests. Two boys in front of them stood aside to let in Tobias. He was still in his robe.

"**TOBIAS!**" Daniel yelled after he handed Raven to Cyborg and as he charged the boy priest. He turned his wand into a katana sword and it met Tobias' own curved samurai sword. They stood with their swords locked.

_"Where is my sister?"_ Daniel demanded, _"What have you done with her?"_

"Nothing yet," answered Tobias, "but come sundown, she will burn, followed by you." Daniel gave an angry yell and the two fought with their swords with much skill while the priests guarded the defenseless rest of the Titans, who rooted for Daniel all the time.

"Give it to him, Danny!" Beast Boy cheered.

"Show him how to treat ladies!" Cyborg said.

"Do be careful," Star cautioned, "and kick the back of his side!"

"Don't give up, Danny!" Robin said, "You can do it!" Raven was too tired to yell, so she shouted in her mind. Tobias kept swinging at Daniel, trying desperately to draw blood. He got mad.

"Are you just fiddling with me now, or what?" he asked Daniel as they circled.

"I just want you to know you're doing well," answered Daniel as he spat, "I hate for people to die embarrassed." They locked again.

"I guess," Tobias grunted, "you've seen 'The Princess Bride' too, huh?"

"Enough times," said Dan, "to learn Spanish fencing." They jumped back. Daniel had his sword in his right hand pointed over his head and held up his left hand, palm out.

"So why don't we use it?" Tobias challenged. They both turned their swords into Spanish ones. Daniel's looked like Inigo Montoya's from the above mentioned movie.

"I have to say," Tobias commented, "You don't look quite right fighting European while dressing Japanese. Why do you always wear those baggy samurai clothes?"

"They make me feel comfortable," he answered, "Now quit talking and _fight me!_"

Meanwhile, at a lake in a forest, Umbra was in a pickle.

Well, a cage, really...A wooden dome-shaped cage with barely enough room for her to stand up. The rope suspending it was set to lower any minute. And who should be watching her but Doris!

Umbra paced the cage, her mind racing. She couldn't use her communicator charm; the others were no doubt indisposed. It would be no use to cry for help. There wasn't a human for 10 miles, only a snake that wouldn't help her if she'd asked.

Then it struck her. She had _claws!_ And there was a lock on her cage door!

Quickly, she unsheathed a claw and began to pick it. Doris uncoiled, startled.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, for all animals understand each other. The cage started to lower.

"Doris," Umbra meowed as she picked frantically, "What you're doing is wrong! You don't belong with Tobias! Just look what he's done to me, an animal like you!"

"Tobias is my master," said the chilled-voiced snake, "He takes care of me."

"But don't you see," Umbra persisted, "what a hypocrite he's being? He takes care of _you_, but he's killing _me!_ If he was as good a master as you've perceived him to be, he'd treat animals equally; _all_ animals! Even witches' cats!"

Doris flicked the air thoughtfully. The cat had a point. Of course, she could be trying to trick her. But unity is one thing that binds the animal kingdom together, predators and non. (Well, maybe not. But just go along with it.) The cage was getting dangerously close to the water. Now water started to get around Umbra's heels. Doris panicked.

"Hurry!" she clacked. Just as the water reached her shoulders, the lock broke and Umbra scrambled up on the cage and jumped onto the ground. The two black animals faced each other. Umbra's eyes were narrow; Doris' were wavering. Umbra's tail flicked like a whip, from her bottom down to the tip; her trademark of a tense moment. (silence) Finally, the cat spoke.

"If you come with me, Doris," she said, "and promise to cause us no trouble, and hunt for your food only, and never kill an innocent human, I will make you a free female."

'Free,' Doris thought, then asked sarcastically, "Do I have a choice?"

"Yes, my friend," Umbra answered, "There is always a choice. You can help me rescue my family, (crouch) or die here and now." Umbra knew she'd hit a weak spot. Doris closed her eyes in thought. She flicked her tongue a few times, then raised her head.

"I will choose freedom," she said. Umbra's eyes softened.

"Wonderful!" she softly said, "By the way, my name is Umbra."

"I am Doris," the snake nodded, though Umbra already knew her name.

"Come, Doris," she meowed as she ran off, "we have a family to rescue and evil priests to vanquish. There will be _blood tonight!_"

Author's Reivew:  
Actually, there won't be blood, just a WHOLE WORLD OF HURTIN'! Anyway, do y'all like this one? Okay, so the Titans being a cheer squad is kind of lame, but I wanted to do something. And the lines from "The Princess Bride" are a little weird, but I'd been watching the movie for a while at the time, so there you go.

I'm really glad I did at least half a chapter centering around Umbra. It's a big step up for her, characterwise. Doris does join their side, but doesn't live with them. Obviously, Travis isn't here either, but oh, well. Review, please!


	7. The Battle of Notre Dame pt1

Hel_lo!_ Is anyone out there even reading this? I'm feeling hurt and left out, y'all! sniff But I'll keep posting anyway. Would y'all just _please_ review? And to all Avatar fans waiting for my Asano update: I'm in a mental writer's block. I'm unsure as to how to go about pairing Asano off. I want her with Zuko, but I want Sokka to really like her, too! It's all confusing, but I'll work it out. For the record, there is a LOT of yelling in this chapter.

Anyway, this is where the plot starts to REALLY get exciting! wink! So without further ado, chapter 7. Enjoy.

Chapter 7: The Battle of Notre Dame pt.1

20 minutes after Daniel had once again been subdued by Tobias, he woke up lying on hay. His clothes had been changed to white, and his sleeves were gone. It was pretty much boys' sized tanks in the style he always wears. He was now wearing the same silver handcuff-manacles the others wore, with his hands in front of him. His surroundings consisted of a steel cage on a prisoner's cart. He saw two more; one with Robin, Starfire, and Raven; the other, on his left, held Beast Boy and Cyborg. A large crowd of townspeople were assembled. In front of him, his sister was on her knees, shackled like him, (but no chain links) in a white burlap dress.

"_Merlina!_" he shouted and ran to her.

"_Daniel!_" Lina said as she embraced him, chainless yet tearful, "I wanna go home, brother! Please take me home!" It didn't matter anymore where she'd been taken, or what had happened to her. All that mattered to Daniel was that his baby sister was with _him_ now; not in a dungeon, not being chased, not with Tobias, but with _him_.

Their family reunion was cut all too short when two priests opened the cage and gently yet firmly took hold of Lina's arms and pulled her away.

"NO! NO! NO!" Lina thrased, "DON'T TAKE ME FROM MY BIG BROTHER! _PLEASE!_" Daniel beat at the priests and they let go for a minute, but they quickly got her again. This time, more priests stuck their arms through the cage and grabbed Daniel, pinning him to the cage. Daniel flailed in vain as hot tears flew from his face with Star's cries of "MERLINA, NO!" with the others ringing through his ears. The cage was shut, and Daniel was released. He scrambled to the locked door and thrust his shackled arms through the bars.

"LET MY SISTER GO, NOW!" he screamed in conjunction with his friends.

"Please!" Starfire wildly pleaded to deaf ears, "Let my friend go free! She has done no one any harm! (hiccup) Please, release her!" While she'd been saying this, she'd been flinging her head around, her own tears falling in her hair. Her hysterical sobbing was to no avail. Her precious tears, over the value of pearls, could not buy Lina's freedom.

"LINA!" Cyborg yelled, "DON'T LET 'EM TAKE YOU LIKE THIS!"

"YOU'VE GOTTA FIGHT THIS!" agreed Robin.

Lina tried everything on her captors: foot stomping, kicking, head banging; none of them worked. They tied her to the stake and started to throw wood on. Tobias walked up the stairs to the platform she was on with a scroll in his hand. He stood next to her and read the scroll aloud as the drums were played.

"Merlina Diana Rose," he read, "has been found guilty of evil witchcraft and devilish works. The sentence: Death."

Lina watched as her friends passionately protested her execution. Tobias then traded off the scroll for a lit torch and faced the witch.

"There's still one more chance for you to save yourself," he said to her lowly, "Join me or your fellow demons in the Underworld." In answer, Merlina spat in his face. He glared at her. Then he turned to the crowd.

"The witch Merlina Rose," he declared, "has refused to recant her deeds and deny herself of ungodliness." He turned to her again.

"Therefore," he continued, "it is by the duty of my office that I thrust her back to where she belongs." He lit the wood around her, and Lina screamed!

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**" Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs. His manacles glowed and shattered, as did the others.' His hair was glowing gold and floating, as were his hands. (Hey! Just like a super-saiyan!) With them, he slashed through the cage and flung a crescent of light at the others. They were free!

"TITANS!" Robin yelled, "FIGHT!"

Daniel leapt onto the platform and slapped Tobias in the face, knocking him down. Lina went unconscious from the smoke, so she didn't see Daniel slash her ropes. She fell forward and he slung her over his shoulder and beelined for the cathedral of Notre Dame behind them.

You'd think he'd go for the front door. HA! You _would_ think that, wouldn't you? No; Daniel shot a rope of light from the spot between his palm and wrist at a certain high point on the building. It jerked him up and he gracefully jumped on the one place, the place where Quasimodo had carried Esmeralda. The light rope disappeared and, like Quasimodo, Daniel hoisted his sister over his head and cried "_SANCTUARY!_" The crowd echoed him, and he cried it two more times to make sure he was heard. Then he put her back in his arms and ran inside a stone-pillared hall to the bell tower.

"Did we not see this in a movie?" Starfire mused. Then she shrugged and attacked Tobias' army of priests.

Author's Review:  
Well? What did y'all think? Too short? Too little dialogue? Anything? I just realized two things as I was typing this that I'd never thought of before! One: Merlina's full name is Merlina Diana Rose. It made me think of Princess Diana and how she was England's Rose! I can't be_lieve_ that never occured to me. Oh, well. Plus, it also never occured to me that Daniel glowing is almost _exactly_ like powering up to a super-saiyan, for all you Dragonball Z fans out there. ;)

I realize I may have made our main Titans really helpless with all this, but it was part of the story! I know I'm kind of giving the Rose siblings a little too much of the reins, but I've already written the whole thing. I'm sorry if I'm making the rest of them look like schmucks, but I promise that's not my intention! Please be patient with me, and get ready for another appearance by Marie and her grandmother. Besides, they're my Ocs, and I can do what I want with them...Okay, I'm done. See you next chapter!

Bowing To You,  
-samuraistar


	8. The Battle of Notre Damept2

Thank you, cat of the shadows! I will! I hope I have with this next chapter. Enjoy, y'all!

**Chapter 8: The Battle of Notre Dame pt. 2: The Toss-Around of Trust**  
While all this commotion was going on, Tobias took a small group of his priests and snuck into the cathedral. They tied up the archdeacon and ran up the spiral staircase that would take them to the bell tower.

Meanwhile, Daniel had left Merlina with the gypsy grandma and was helping Marie create defenses consisting of boulders, catapults, and molten lead (what did they use in the movie?) that poured from the gargoyle's mouths.

"Yeah!" they cheered.

"_Tres magnifique!_" said Marie. (French students, please correct me.)

"Daniel," the grandmother approached him, "You must take your sister and run. There is a rope hanging out. I will show you." He followed her back to the room.

"Are they coming?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. He scooped Lina up, bowed, and grabbed the rope and climbed higher. Marie stood in front of her grandmother with the dagger Daniel had given her. Grandma was shocked!

"You would do murder in the holy church?" she asked. Marie narrowed her eyes, still facing forward as the group came nearer.

"No," she answered, pressing the dagger upright against herself with the handle on her stomach and the blade in the middle of her chest, "I will not shed blood tonight." The priests burst in just then and charged her.

"**_NO!_**" she yelled shortly at the top of her lungs. Her yell shot a wave of energy at them and knocked them back, but not unconscious. Tobias was surprised, but didn't show it in his ever-calm voice.

"Volume 10?" he asked nonchalantly.

"How did _you_ know?" she asked back, baffled.

"Ceres fans always recognize each other," he answered.

"Then you'll know," she triumphantly proclaimed, "that as Aya was under Toya's special protection while they were apart, so are we under Daniel's. He's not my boyfriend, so don't get any ideas; but my grandma and I saved his life, and with this dagger he repaid his debt!" Then she paused with humorous realization.

"You're a Ceres fan?" she giggled.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" he blushed, "COME ON!" He and his group ran out of the room, leaving Marie and her grandma unharmed. Like a _true_ Ceres fan, he knew better than to mess with the dagger's power when it's in the possession of its protectee (if that's even a word). Marie smiled at Grandma.

"'Too much Ceres,'huh?" she joked. Grandma chuckled.

Meanwhile, Daniel carried Merlina (still out cold) down a marble, pillared hall with the dusky twilight of the outside on both sides. He ran all the way to the end. Below him lay the lava-like substance on the ground while the battle raged on. He could see Star's green starbolts and Cyborg's blue sonic blasts. But there was nowhere for him to go, and Tobias was quickly approaching with his group!

"Stop right there!" they were yelling, "Give us the witch!" Daniel turned his head and saw them, then looked down again, breathing hard. Thinking desperately, he turned around to face them and jumped on the side of the pillar on his right, grabbing around it with his right hand. He put his feet on it, too, (in a sort of squatting position) and with his left hand (music stops) he held Merlina over the edge by her right wrist. The group stopped short, unwilling to believe what they were seeing. It was profound silence, except for the wind whipping through Daniel's baggy white pants, through his sleeveless shirt and shining blond hair, while Lina's chestnut hair acted as if to tear itself off her head and her skirt made whip-like movements. The camera panned from Merlina's wrist in Daniel's fist, along his arm, and stopped at his face, set with meaning and determination, to say nothing of the unmitigated gall with which he graced Tobias.

"I'll do it, too," he dangerously threatened in a slow, sure voice. The group panted from running.

"Dangling your own sister in the air?" Tobias said, "You sure you want that on your soul?"

"My soul is my business," Daniel barked, "Besides, what do you care? You just want her dead, right? (He held her up higher.) I drop her, she's dead."

"Nice try, daredevil," Tobias said, "but I'm the one who hunted her down for so long, who stalked her life, who desired her against my calling. It is _my_ mission, _my_ sin, and she is the key to my repentance. Besides, (he smirked) you don't have the guts to drop your own flesh and blood to her death. You're bluffing." (Gear up for a monologue, everybody!)

"Maybe I am," Daniel countered, "Maybe I don't have the guts. But let me tell _you_ something, 'priest.' Merlina and I share a bond of siblinghood unlike any other. Our lives are woven together in the tapestry of the world. What we have is stronger than the hardest steel, clearer than the most flawless diamond, purer than the whitest snow, and more enduring than the human spirit. My sister trusts me more than anyone with her life. I would never let her die, but she once told me that if there ever came a day when she _had_ to die, that she'd rather it be by the hand of someone she loves than someone evil, like you." He paused.

"And I am prepared," he raised his voice and considerably, "to grant her wish, if it will save her from YOU!" Tobias wavered. Daniel _meant_ it! He was willing to put his own sister to death to save her from _him_! What was worse, he would have been doing her a favor! She'd be happy! Tobias quickly recovered his sarcasm and asked, "Is that all you have to say?" as if he hadn't heard him. (Someone slap that child, _please_!)

"No," Daniel answered, "I have but one word left." He jumped back on the floor, still holding Lina's wrist. He moved a little away from next to the pillar.

"STARFIRE!" he bellowed as, at the same time, he swung Lina around and flung her over the edge! Tobias' priests ran next to Daniel and saw Lina plummeting hundreds of feet. Daniel was emotionless as he watched his only sister plunge toward a scalding demise.

From Tobias' perspective, Daniel ducked to the floor before a green starbeam shot diagonally up, knocking Tobias' priests in their heads and unconscious. Some of them even fell off the edge.

Daniel stood, facing Tobias triumphantly.

"What was that?" Tobias had to ask.

"I'm not the only one she trusts," said Daniel, "I never said I was." And behind him rose Starfire with Lina in her arms and her eyes glowing.

"You never planned that, did you?" said Tobias.

"Of course not," Daniel answered, "She could have fallen to her death, or this could have happened. It's a matter of trust. I took a risk throwing her off, because we have friends we love and trust." He turned his head to Star.

"Get her out of here, Star," he asked, "I'm counting on you." Starfire beamed and shot a starbolt from her hand, blinding Tobias with smoke. Then she gracefully flew downward. (Her bolt was to create a diversion for Daniel, as we will later see)

"ROBIN!" she shouted, "CATCH!" Robin looked up as Star flew over him and dropped the witch into his arms and landed near him, fighting more people.

"Star!" he said urgently, "Get me behind the cathedral!" Starfire picked him up and flew him through the chaos behind the church, where it was surprisingly quiet. The two Titans knelt down. Lina's manacles had shattered from Daniel's outburst of light.

"Merlina," Star quietly said as she took Lina's right hand in both of hers, "It is us, your friends! You are safe now!" Presently, Merlina stirred and woke up. She looked as tired as she felt.

"Star," she softly said, "Robin! You guys are okay! Where _is_ everyone? And what's all that fighting I hear?" As they helped her up, Robin explained, "The others are fighting Tobias' priests, and so are the townspeople."

"Where's Daniel?" she asked in a sudden panic.

"Your brother is fighting Tobias," Star gently answered, "They are...inside the cathedral." Lina paled.

_"We have to help him!"_ she said as she started to run.

"Lina, listen," Robin held her back, "You're not in any condition to fight anyone right now."

"I'm in good enough condition to _kill Tobias!_" Lina's anger had returned something fierce. Somehow, she didn't feel so tired anymore.

Author's Review:  
Okay, so we've got people fighting evil teenagers, Tobias reads soap opera-type mangas, and Daniel is about to beat the B.S. out of him! Not a bad plot, I say! How do ya like them apples, readers? Popcorn? I'll give you some if you review me...

Oh, and this'll be the last time we see Marie and Grandma. LET'S GET SOME REVIEWS HERE, PEOPLE! You're bumming me out! (puppy pout )

As far as the trust thing goes, if any of you are confused: Daniel said Lina trusts her _more_ than anyone else; he didn't say, however, that he was the only one she trusted. _Aye, there's the rub,_ in the words of Hamlet. (wink!) REVIEW, PLEASE!


	9. The Battle of Notre Dame pt3

Finally, a review!

Responding to wylkin: Think about it for a minute.

** Chapter 9: The Battle of Notre Dame pt. 3: The End of the Battle**  
While all this went on, (rewinding to when Star fired the bolt and flew off) Tobias coughed and looked all around.

"Con_found_ that alien!" he cursed, "_Where are you, Rose?_" In reply, Daniel jumped feet-first from the rafters and landed on top of him. Tobias slipped back up with his Black magic. He also used it to make his samurai sword again.

"Your kind caused my father to lose his mind," he said shakily, "I'm not about to be subdued by one of _you!_" Daniel made his katana.

"And _your_ kind killed my mom and my brother," he said, "I'm not about to let you kill my sister, too!" Daniel's sword clashed with Tobias.'

"If your mother was anything like you two," Tobias said, "she deserved it." Daniel's already flaming heart was filled with rage. He punched Tobias and attacked with everything he had.

"Don't—" he said with each blow of his sword, "_you—ever—insult—my mother—in—front—of—ME!_" With his right hand, he teleported/lifted Tobias through the roof and up to the top. He followed him shortly the same way. Seconds later, Merlina, Robin and Starfire appeared in the same room the two boys had just left.

"**Crap!**" Lina said in frustration, "They were just _here_!" Being a witch, she could sense when magic was left behind recently, and this room was crawling with Danny and Tobias' mojo.

"Can your powers not take us to where they are?" Star asked.

"Not without my wand," Lina answered, "Tobias stole it from me again. But I'll bet they're on the roof. Come on!" They ran down a hall.

"Besides," Lina continued as they ran, "I can only do so much magic with my hands! If I had my wand, I could do it in a snap!" They climbed up a staircase where they met up with Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy. They'd been looking for Daniel, too. Once Lina explained, they took off towards any passageway that would take them topside.

(_Meanwhile, on the roof..._)

"HEE-YAH!" Daniel and Tobias fought with their all, sword and spell.

"_You think you can lust after my sister and try to justify it by killing her?_" Daniel yelled as their swords kept hitting each other, "**_Think again!_**" He jumped in the air and came down with it on Tobias' sword. Tobias knocked him back. Then they ran at each other and fought with more intensity. They spun and swung their swords in the intricate dance of enemies. Daniel kicked Tobias in the chest, then Tobias grabbed Daniel's foot and threw him down. Danny lost his sword. Tobias stepped on him with his curved samurai sword in stabbing position. His eyes were crazy!

"This is for you, Dad," he whispered loudly. Before he could stab him, though, Daniel kicked Tobias' foot off him and rolled for his sword. He'd just picked it up when a feline snarl was heard, and a black cat flew up in Tobias' face and proceeded to slash him. When Tobias dropped his sword, the cat jumped off him and put herself between him and Daniel. His sword had evaporated. Daniel's face turned to the white circle eyes and open mouth anime effect.

"UMBRA?" he said, dumbfounded. She turned her head to him.

"Hi, Danny!" she giggled, "You didn't think I was gonna let _you_ have all the fun, did you? Besides..." she crouched and flicked her tail, facing Tobias again, "I want to teach this loser a lesson!"

But Tobias had a different idea. He used his Black magic to bring the cat to him and slammed her head sideways, knocking her to the floor. Daniel attacked him again. Tobias remade his sword and slashed Danny's right arm.

"AAA!" he cried. But that was just the beginning. Now it was serious, because now...There was blood.

Tobias then grazed the back of his neck. (And **only** grazed because of Danny's reflexes) Daniel stood and cut Tobias' cheek, Tobias missed his other arm, and they kept at it until Daniel was knocked down again, tired and hurt. Umbra couldn't move because of how hard Tobias had smacked her, but she was able to push her charm one more time.

(Downstairs...)  
Robin took out his communicator. It was beeping! He said to Lina, "It's your cat!" He hesitated with a confused look, "She's on the roof." Lina looked forward.

"Danny," she whispered as she took off up the flight of stairs straight ahead.

(Back up...)  
Daniel lay in a tired, battered state at Tobias' feet. Tobias approached him, sword in hand. His eyes were no longer crazy, but cold. Daniel wouldn't give up. He tried to get up, but Tobias promptly kicked him back down.

"You're not getting away from me, witch boy," he said cruelly, "not you, not your sister, not any of your kind. If your sister cares about you **so** much, (he grabbed him up by his still white shirt) where is she?"

**_"RIGHT HERE!"_** Tobias looked up to see Merlina running at him with righteous fury fuelling her cold, bare feet. The camera switched to slow motion as Tobias dropped Daniel, his eyes unbelieving. Merlina threw her arms around Tobias' waist and slammed into him with the top of her head, putting all her weight into her shoulders. Back in regular motion, Tobias tumbled 10 feet backwards away from Danny with Lina clinging to him like a leech!

When they stopped, Tobias scrambled to his feet and grabbed her from behind, but Lina grabbed his neck and flipped him over. He was sprawled on the floor. She stood over him.

"I would have done that the _first_ time if you hadn't frozen me like a coward!" she said. Furious, Tobias grabbed her down by her ankle and withdrew a knife. He sat up and got a hold of her, but before he could do anything to her, he heard a sonic charge-up **dangerously** close to the back of his head. His hair prickled; he was frozen to his spot. Slowly, he craned his neck around to face a blue light ready to blast him to kingdom come.

"Touch our girl," Cyborg snarled, "it'll be the last thing you **ever** do." Tobias felt the witch being quickly pulled out of his grasp, as well as his knife. He turned back around to face Starfire's green starbolt. Robin had yanked Lina away while his head was turned and was protectively holding her away from Tobias in a hug hold. (For a perspective helper, Lina's kind of low on her knees, seeing as how he pulled her out of a sitting position...You get it.) Merlina held onto him like a scared little girl.

"You are _not_ to harm her **_ever!_**" Star said angrily. Raven was on his right with his own knife at his throat with her powers.

"Believe it or not," Raven said with special contempt, "we care a _lot_ about Lina and her family. So **_stay away from her._** 'Cause if you don't..."

Beast Boy came up on his left with Umbra in his arms and Doris entwined around his shoulders and hissing.

"...You can **_bet_** we'll find out," he finished. The young priest was surrounded. Tobias looked at his snake, his _pet_.

"Don't even bother calling her on," Lina said, "She's with us now. From what my cat tells me, Doris has finally seen what you really are: A twisted blasphemer who shames his office with Dark power and evil designs!"

At this, Tobias roared in anger and prepared to kill them with his magic, but Raven quickly summoned her powers and drained him of it.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos..." she was chanting as she drew his evil power out of him. Once it was all out, it developed into an energy ball. Raven snapped her fingers and it vibrated with light shooting out of it. It vanished. During this time, Daniel had quietly joined the circle.

"You can't hurt us anymore, Tobias," he said, "It's over."

"For _you, it is!_" Tobias yelled unrelenting as he tackled him. The others ran to them, but Doris quickly slithered there first and sank her sedative fangs into her former master's shoulder. He fell unconscious. She then wriggled around in his clothes and came back out with Lina's wand in her mouth. Lina took it from her with a smile and received the meowing jump of Umbra into her arms. Daniel approached her. She looked up at him.

Tears welled up in both their eyes as Umbra jumped out of Lina's arms and Lina jumped into Daniel's open ones. They both cried and Daniel had his right hand on her head as his tears leaked out. Lina was 2 inches off her feet.

"I'm _never_ letting you go through something like that again," he choked, "not when I can save you." He pulled her back and stared at her angelic face. Then he said to her the first words he ever said to her, when she was a newborn: "Hi, baby." Lina smiled through her tears and buried her eyes back in his neck.

"Take me home, brother," she sobbed, "I'm ready to leave." At a moment like this, Daniel could have pulled down the moon if she'd wanted it. But he didn't; instead, he scooped her up like the baby sister she was and led the way back downstairs and outside the cathedral amongst cheers and cameras flashing. Lina buried her head into her brother's strong shoulder and clung onto him, again, like a scared little girl. The crowd parted to allow the Titans walking room. Not one of them spoke to anyone; they just drank in the victory of yet another battle.

The French police offered them a ride to the coast where they somehow found out their T-Ship was. The Titans gladly accepted. Danny and Lina got their own car, while Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven rode in a separate car, and Robin and Beast Boy rode with Doris and Umbra. Daniel never let go of his sister the whole ride. He rocked her back and forth, softly singing Enya's "May It Be" to her (from "Fellowship of the Ring.")

When they got to the coast, Merlina led Danny to where she had harbored and cloaked her boat, the _Ponderosa_ (whip crack!) and used her wand to reveal it. They got in, and Lina turned it on, and they zoomed across the ocean together while the others (with the animals) flew in the sky back west.

**Author's Review:**  
Okay, so I suck at describing fight scenes, but it was still good, wasn't it? Wasn't it? Anyway, this is NOT the last chapter. I'm still trying to figure it out right now. Review, please! And I would have put in the song words to that Enya song, but I figured the chapter was long enough already, so...Yeah. L8R!


	10. Teal Cloaks, Tea Cups, and

If anyone reviewed me, thank you. Now, the final chapter in my seemingly incredible and dramatic story. This story's been an adventure to write, and I thank everyone who read it and joined me on the adventure. (Bowing) Enjoy this last chapter, and please review. If enough people demand it, there may well be a sequel. But I need you, my readers, to make it happen. (Even if you don't, I will.) Enjoy.

**Chapter 10: Teal Cloaks, Tea Cups, and Speculative Gossip**  
Later, that same afternoon, Marie's grandmother sat with her gossips around a table at a cafe, sipping tea with the rest of them as they discussed the fiasco at Notre Dame.

"I never would have put it past that child to do what he did," said one, "That Tobias is the son of one of the best-known witch hunters, you know."

"Serves them both right, I say," said another, "but it's the queerest thing: Marietta tells me they searched the whole church over for Tobias but found only a baby lying in a black robe too big for him."

"That's just what comes of delving into Black magic with no knowledge of the consequences," said a third, "it must have backfired. If I'm not mistaken, Marietta said the boy's own snake bit him comatose."

"Well, I for one," said the next, "am of the opinion that any child who bewitches pets against their masters is not trustworthy." A wise younger woman glanced at Marie's grandmother, Marietta.

"What does Marietta say?" she said so they'd hear her, "She lives in the environment in question, and saw everything with her Gift. We have always trusted her judgment. What do _you_ say, Marietta?" The others quieted themselves. Marietta sipped her tea thoughtfully before speaking. Then she calmly put her cup down and spoke slowly and clearly.

"If there was any bewitching on any pet," she began, "it was all the doing of the boy himself. He used his own snake as an instrument against the witch's pet. She was his icon, his trademark of what he was out to do. He took care of her like any pet, but what he lacked was love for his pet. If he'd cared about his pet anywhere near as much as the witch did for hers, the snake surely would not have turned on him." She took another sip of tea.

"As for the matter of the babe," she continued, "Leilani was correct: The boy's magic did, indeed, backfire on him. I've learned many things in my years of magic, and one of them is this: There are enough variations of Black magic to make your heads spin, and one of them is Revenge Black Magic. Tobias, in a nutshell, sold his past life for the power to wreak his vengeance on the witch who'd driven his father insane. The way the spell worked was he would be granted immeasurable power for his mission. If he'd succeeded in killing the girl, he would have kept his power _and_ his past life; that is, his memories, personality, thoughts, feelings, ambitions, even his literal life. Of course, if he failed, which he did, he would pay the price of his past life and be reborn a baby as naked and helpless as the day he was first born, his entire memory wiped from his mind. This is exactly what happened. Now he'll grow to be a whole different boy. He'll have no recollection of his first life, and he'll have no Dark power, for when he paid his life, he also surrendered his magic." The other women thought and murmured on this.

"But who is taking care of him?" the second one asked.

"The boy's mother came to pick him up," Marietta smiled, "The archdeacon admonished her to raise him far away from magic. They are to live here in Paris." They all sipped. There was no doubt they'd remember his attack, but for everyone's sakes, they would never utter a word about it to him or anyone else. There were some things best left untold to the innocent.

"Extraordinary children, those Teen Titans," said the young wiser woman named Galani as she smiled, "They are like a family to themselves. Never have I seen such a dedicated friendship. And that blonde young man, the witch's brother—"

Beside Marietta, a teal-colored-cloaked figure was having tea with them, but had said nothing. The figure's eyes snapped wide open as Galani finished, "—the way he fought for his sister brought tears to my eyes." The figure's olive-skinned (that's pale, right?) hands put her cup down gently. Her anime-drawn eyes, as teal as her cloak, (and as her hair, which went down her thighs) quivered as she looked at Galani on Marietta's right.

"The brother wizard is a blonde, you say?" she asked quietly yet urgently, "They are brother and sister?"

Unlike Marietta, Galani was surprised to hear her voice. She was sharply reminded of an angel.

"Yes," she answered, flustered, "The witch that nearly died had long, brown hair and green eyes. Her brother fought Tobias tooth and nail to save her. They are with the Teen Titans. Did you not know any of this?"

"Where are they?" the teal woman ignored her last question and asked with sudden emotion in her voice, "Where do they live? I must know."

"They live in Jump City, in America!" Galani told her, "Is something wrong?" The woman stood and laid a _franc_ on the table.

"_Merci beaucoup, mademoiselle,_" she bowed, "and thank you for the tea, Marietta. I am sorry, but I must go."

Then she quickly left as swift, as silent, and as lithe as a cat, her feet blurred like a Jedi when they use the Force to run. Her thigh-length teal hair flew behind her as her hood fell back to reveal her naturally pale face (not too pale, mind you; an attractive pale). You wouldn't think a woman could run like that in high heels, but hers had straps that kept them to her feet. Whatever it took, she had to find the Teen Titans.

THE  
END

**Author's Review:**  
Well! I finally got an ending I could be satisfied with! I couldn't be happier with it! I think it's awesome! But what do y'all think? Good? Great? Not? Anyone dying to know who this teal-cloaked woman is? She was inspired by Sailor Neptune, but her hair is straight, as opposed to Sailor Neptune's fluffy. Other than that, she's just about the spitting image. If you review, I'll write a sequel! L8R, gators!

Yours,  
-samuraistar


	11. Guy Talk

Yay! My first alternate ending! I'd come up with this a long time after I'd finished writing (not uploading) the RND story, so here's a historical one-shot. Enjoy, and _please_ review!

**Alternate Ending: Guy Talk**  
Daniel stood on the roof to watch the sunset. His robe was yellow, and he wore it untied so that it billowed in the wind. He also wore yellow baggy samurai pants with the ankles loose and no shirt under the robe.

He stood quietly, thinking back on their adventure in Paris. He remembered grimly how Tobias had attacked Lina by rendering her helpless. If Dan hadn't shown up...Then he smiled as he remembered carrying his sister out of the Notre Dame cathedral, how supportive their friends had been...What would he and Lina do without them?

His thoughts were interrupted when Starfire popped up in front of him and flew into the house. Daniel thought, 'Now where has _she_ been?' and looked down to see Robin sitting on a rock. Daniel jumped off through a green ring of light that landed him behind him. Robin turned and said, "Hey."

"Hey," the wizard responded, sitting on the rock next to his (on Robin's left), "What's up?" He put his hand near the water and magically fiddled with it.

"Not much," Robin said, watching him, "How do you do that?"

"I'm a wizard," he answered matter-of-factly, almost dully, "I can bend nature, to a certain extent." Robin noted his voice and looked at the blonde sadly.

"Is it hard?" he asked. The water ball Daniel made split into lines and swirled all around his hand. He was slightly annoyed at Robin's aloofness.

"I'm not an idiot, Robin," he patiently said, "Just because I'm blonder now doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know what you're thinking, and no. (He dropped the water back into the ocean.) I'm still not quite over what he did to her yet. (Incidentally, Daniel's hair now has a few paler blonde streaks as a result of his outburst.) Merlina's meditating it away, but I'm not quite over it." He put his head in his left hand.

"Neither is Starfire," Robin said, "She was just down here asking me what Tobias had done to Merlina in the street." Danny blushed.

"What did you tell her?" he asked. Robin sighed and kneaded his forehead with his fingers.

"What else? The truth," he answered, "As much as I wish I could protect her from it, I had to tell her. (He picked up a flat stone.) I guess you can't protect them forever." He skipped his rock and watched the water ripple. Daniel didn't very much care for Robin's "I guess." It sounded too fatalistic.

"Maybe not from the truth," he said, "but we can keep it from happening to them." Daniel skipped a rock, and Robin nodded.

"She also asked me why he'd done that," he continued, "and I ended up trying to tell her about the different variations of human nature. I didn't do so well." He skipped another rock.

"There are really only two kinds of human nature, with a million branches to them," Danny explained, "Good and evil. No human is ever born evil. A lot of people simply choose to _become_ evil. Only when we learn to control our feelings, thoughts, and actions can we determine whether we are truly good or evil. Tobias clouded himself with hatred and his own selfish wants. He chose evil, and that was his downfall. No amount of evil will ever truly triumph in the end." (Rock-skip) He magically handed Robin another rock. Robin fingered it thoughtfully.

"That's just the trouble with today," he said, skipping his rock, "It doesn't take much to lose your innocence." The two young men watched the rippling spot where the rock had fallen. Their reflections wavered. Daniel picked up another one and gazed at it. After a while, he said

"It doesn't take much to keep it, either."

He skipped his rock, and the two thought silently.

"There's one more thing I don't get," Robin asked, "I know brothers should always protect their sisters, but you protect her more passionately and with more loyalty than I've ever seen. Brotherhood aside, what drives you to be this way about her? Who made you her protector?"

Daniel closed his eyes. Images swam across his memory...The orange glow of a fire; pitchforks in silhouette; his father pulling on his shirt; a beautiful woman's terrified face among the angry ones that were holding her back; her smile telling him telepathically that somehow, everything would be all right; her final commandment before his father grabbed his arm, like a whisper in his heart:

_"Look after your sister, and be strong for her...I love you."_

As his mind's ear remembered her piercing scream, tears poured from under his eyelids. It was like listening to an angel die.

"The most wonderful person in the world," he whispered so Robin could barely hear, "before the people led by Tobias' father murdered her."

Robin already knew.

"...Your mother."

THE  
END  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Well? What do you think? Now, nobody likes flames, but on this fic, I will _not accept flames from anyone._ This is Daniel's **mother** we're talking about. Even for a fictional character, we should be respectful. But please tell me what you think.

Yours forever,  
-samuraistar


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